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First Episcopal Church Erected in Tacoma, Wash. See page 24. 



FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN 



WITH 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON 
THE WAY. 



BY 

REV. ANDREW SHILAND, D.D. 



3 J > 3 



1 » o, o 



) >:>} 33- 



N E W Y R K : 

FOR SALE BY AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 

150 Nassau St. and 404 Fourth Ave. 

1892. 



\Sss 



y 



FREDERICK H. PINNEY, 

Steam Printer and Manufacturing Stationer 

5^537 pearl street, new york. 




'•- -•-•••• 



e]4Ap^P8p 



©N the eleventh day of May, 1892, I fouud myself 
comfortably seated in a palace car, starting from 
the Grand Central depot in New York city. Our 
train consisted of nine palace cars, containing the 
commissioners and visitors to the General Assembly of 
the Presbyterian Church to convene on the 19th of May 
in the First Presbyterian Church of Portland, Oregon. 

Nothing of particular interest occurred till we reached 
Chicago. There the train passed slowly by the fair 
grounds and we had a good view of the exhibition 
buildings now in process of erection for the display of 
the world's productions in all that pertains to the civil- 
ization and enlightenment of this last decade of the 
nineteenth century. 

From Chicago, we started on our way after some 
three hours delay, with twenty-seven palace cars, div- 
ided into three sections— first, second and third— each 
section of nine cars drawn by a powerful locomotive. 
We were in the second section. Col. Eliot Shepherd 
happened to be with us on his way to Omaha to deliver 
an ad^^^ress on "The Sabbath, or Fourth Command- 
ment" before the Methodist Ejjiscopal Conference in 
that city. The members of the Conference sent the 

3 



delegates aud friends on their way to Portland an invi- 
tation to stop for a couj^le of hours that the rej)resenta- 
tives of the great Methodist Episcopal Church might 
give a cordiiil reception to our representatives of the 
Presbyterian Church with kindly Christian greetings. 
We would have been delighted to have visited the Con- 
ference, but the officials of our trains said they could 
not wait for such a reception, however desirable, be- 
cause the trains were behind time and must move on. 

At Niles, Michigan, Col. Shepherd had ordered at his 
own expense a superb dinner for all on board the train, 
and gave a full half-hour for the enjoyment of the ex- 
cellent viands provided by his thoughtfulness and gen- 
erosity. While we were at the tables a beautiful young 
woman came in with a basketful of lovely roses of dif- 
ferent colors and deposited very gracefully a large rose 
beside the plate of every guest. It was well done and 
gratefully received as unexpected. Of course thanks 
were tendered to Col. Shepherd and speeches made 
suited to the occasion. 

On Sunday, at five in the morning, we found oursel- 
ves safely in Salt Lake City. The cars were side-tracked 
and w^e were allowed to occupy them as lodings while 
there or go to hotels for rooms if we chose to do so. 
Some engaged rooms in the hotels for the sake of a 
change. You know that sleeping on a shelf even in a 
palace car is not very agreeable or co^ufortable. You 
can stand it for two or three nights, but when you con- 
tinue it for seven nights in succession it becomes some- 
what tiresome. 

Sunday morning I went out to find a cup of hot 
coffee. There was a colfee stand or saloon near the 
station into which I entered and found what I wanted. 

i 



It being earW, no one was present but the owner of the 
establishment and myself, I took the liberty of asking 
him two or three questions. I said are you a Mormon ? 
He replied ; " Yes, I am a Mormon, through and 
through." I then asked him, " How many wives have 
you? " He answered, "I have but one, but if I could 
afford it I would have three or four ! ! " He told me 
that his mother was a Mormon and brought him from 
England when he was sixteen years old. All the Evan- 
gelical Churches in Salt Lake City were supplied by 
the ministers of the Presbyterian Church who were 
resting and keeping the Sabbath holy. In the after- 
noon we went to the tabernacle to witness the general 
assembling of the Mormons for worship. All the visi- 
tors are seated in front of the congregation and immed- 
iately facing the president, elders, bishops and other 
high dignataries of the Mormon Church. President 
'Woodruff, who occupies the highest seat, is eighty-six 
3'ears old, and with snow white hair joresents a vener- 
able appearance. Behind the officials is the great or- 
gans-one of the largest in the country. The choir con- 
sisted of 350 voices — some say 500. All the singers 
were thoroughly trained. Among the pieces sung was 
the Alleluia chorus. I never heard such enchanting 
music. It seemed grand and insi3iring beyond power 
to express. Elder Penrose preached the sermon. 
He is an eloquent and fluent speaker and occupied 
nearly an hour. I could agree with all of the first half 
of the sermon, but the latter part spoiled it all. While 
he was speaking, bread and water were distributed to all 
in that vast congregation— little and big, old and 
young. Next to myself sat a Mormon with three women 
at his right and each with a young child on her lap — 



perhaps his wives. I noticed that when the basket, 
filled with small pieces of bread, was passed and offered 
to the mother and child, the mother took one piece of 
the bread, but her little one grabbed a whole handful. 
A little u)'chin when the cup of water was passed, being- 
thirsty, drank nearly all of it. The services were inter- 
esting and impressive in its way, but none of the Gen- 
tiles partook of the elements, although offered to every 
one present. I suj^pose that there were at least a 
thousand of us in the tabernacle at this service. I know 
of one minister, a D. D., who remained outside and re- 
fused to go in on the ground of conscientious scruples. 
He thought that his presence at the religious service of 
this queer people would lend countenance to Mormon- 
ism ; I experienced no difficulty of that kind. 

The tabernacle is unattractive on the outside, but in 
side it is spacious and imposing. It can seat ten thous- 
and persons. Its accoustic properties are perfect. A 
whisper or the fall of a pin at one end of the gallery can 
be distinctly heard at the other end. The roof is an 
immense dome covering the whole building and resting 
upon the exterior walls without a centre support of any 
kind. The building is eliptical in form, two hundred 
and fifty feet long by one hundred and fifty feet wide, 
and eighty feet from floor to ceiling. The structure 
has twenty doors, nine feet wide, affording ready egress 
in case of emergency. From the outside the building- 
looks like a huge whale's back or an immense turtle 
with it's tail cut off. It is located in what is called 
" The Sacred Square of the Latter-day Saints." It em- 
braces ten acres and is surrounded by a high adobe 
wall for protection. Within this enclosure is the Salt 
Lake Temple, a beautiful structure now approaching 

6 



completion. Recently the top-stone was laid with inn 
posing ceremonies. The corner-stone was laid April 
nth, 1853. It has been in process of building for forty 
rears. In the basement is a baptistry 57 feet long by 
35 feet in width. On the top of the highest tower, 200 
feet from the ground, stands a gilt angel called Maroni 
with a long horn in his right hand blowing rigorously 
towards the East. 

A minister going along the street on the Sabbath 
saw two little boys pla^dng marbles. He thought 
this a good opportunity to do some missionary work. 
He said to the boy who had his marble poised on his 
thumb and finger ready to shoot it, " Boy do you know 
what day this is ? " He fired his marble and then turn- 
ing to his companion said, " See here, Jim, this darned 
fool don't know Sunday." 

Salt Lake City is situated in a basin surrounded by 
lofty mountains which are corered with snow. It has 
an area of more than 10,000 acres. The blocks or 
squares are ten acres each. The streets are one hundred 
and thirty-two feet wide, and through some of them, 
next to the side-walk flows large streams of water. In 
the eastern part of the city the streets are eighty feet 
wide. The shade trees with their rich foliage add 
greatly to the attractiveness of the city. In fact it is 
beautiful for situation and like a richly cultivated gar- 
den. When Brigham Young came here in 1847, July 
24th, with his 142 hardy pioneers the valley was a bar- 
ren desert, now it appears clothed in beauty like a para- 
dise. 

There are two principal lines of cars, run by electric- 
ity, by which you can be carried to Camp Douglass, 
where several hundred soldiers are quartered and are 

7 



provided for as the cadets are at West Point. From 
this station you can see the whole city and all the val- 
ley, 21 miles long. It presents a picturesque landscape 
of unequaled beauty. The electric lines are owned, 
one by the Gentiles and the other by the Mormons. 
There is rivalry between them. When the first electric 
car was running at great speed, a Chinaman looked at 
it with amazement and was confounded, as he saw no 
horses attached and no apparent means of propulsion, 
lie exclaimed, "No pull ee, no push ee, go all the 
same ee." 

When the United States troops were established at 
Fort Douglas, Brigham Young sent the commandant 
a message that he wanted to see him. The commandant 
went to see Brigham. The Mormon Chief informed him 
that he wanted him and his soldiers to get awa}' from 
that encampment as soon as 2)ossible. The officer 
looked Brigham sternly in the face and said, " I have 
my guns trained on your Tabernacle and your houses, 
and the moment you make any trouble I will blow them 
all to atoms." Brigham Young after that was meek and 
submissive as a lamb. 



e^AP-TEp II. 

@N the 22d of May, at 10 P. M., Ave went on board 
the steamer State of California for San Francisco. 

I thought that the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Church of the United States could manage the 
Briggs case, the Eevision of the Creed and all other 
matters that might come before that venerable body 
without my presence. Although my name was called 
in the matter of voting as I did, dismissing the case 
of Dr. Briggs, I was not there to respond to it. 

Going from Portland down the Columbia by night, 
and being in my berth trying to sleep in spite of 
the jar and noise of the machinery, I can give you 
no account of the scenery of this part of the river. 
The next morning about daylight we found ourselves 
fast on the sandbar in sight of Astoria. It was low 
tide and we could not move an inch. The passengers 
amused themselves by watching the fishermen casting 
their nets and drawing in the salmon. An interesting 
feature of their method of fishing was the use of 
horses. Men on horseback waded out as far as they 
could go, hitched on to the rope and drew in the very 
long seines with their heavy load of salmon weighing 
from ten to sixty pounds each. The horses had a hard 

9 



pull, but they appeared to enjoy the sport. We saw 
the big fish splashing the water as they were drawn 
near the shore. At high tide the island and the fisher- 
men disappeared, and our steamer passed over the 
sand-bar with all ease, and we fastened to the Astoria 
dock. We were there an hour or more putting off and 
taking on freight. In the meantime, one or two of the 
passengers and myself made straight for the largest 
cannery in Astoria, if not in the country. We went on 
an electric car, Avere soon inside of the immense estab- 
lishment and saw all the operations of preparing and 
canning these delectable fish to be sent all over the 
world. A lady who had visited a factory told me that 
if I saw the way these canning establishments Avere 
conducted I would never more eat salmon. I can only 
say that in this large factory everything was clean and 
orderly. The workmen were nearly all of them China- 
men, but they appeared to understand the business 
and kept themselves and the premises neat and clean. 

Below the bar the Government has built a jetty 
about five miles long and is still extending it for the 
purpose of deepening the channel. More than two 
millions of dollars have been expended on this import- 
ant work. 

Leaving Astoria, we found ourselves on the broad 
Pacific ocean, of which I had often read and heard but 
had never seen. The weather was all that could be 
desired, yet the sea was rough or choppy and most of 
the passengers were seasick and did not relish the 
experience of this sort of thing. I became acquainted 
with the captain, a pleasant Christian gentleman and 
the son of a Baptist minister. He formerly ran a 
steamboat from Sag Harbor and knew many persona 

lu 



on the east end of Long Island of whom he made pai*^ 
ticular inquiries. We were nearly all the way out of 
sight of land, saw the spouting of whales very fre- 
quently, and were followed all the w^ay by large flocks 
of birds of the sea-gull species, but much larger — I 
have forgotten the name. They kept near the steamer, 
feeding upon the scraps thrown overboard. 

We steamed through the Golden Gate and fastened 
to the wharf about 5 A. M. of Wednesday. We hurried 
off to the great Palace Hotel and there occupied rooms 
while remaining in the city. I need not tell what you 
already know, viz., that this is one of the largest 
hotels in the world and cost six millions of dollars. 

In San Francisco they have the most efficient and 
perfect system of cable and electric cars. The East- 
ern cities, so far as I know, are far behind the cities 
of tlie Pacific coast in this respect. 

If some of those men of the east end of Long Island 
now living, who went to San Francisco for gold in 
1849, w^ere to visit that region now, they would think 
that they had fallen into a new world. What was 
then a succession of sand hills, barren and desolate, 
is now a magnificent city of three hundred thousand 
inhabitants. They would see long streets of great 
stores and warehouses, public buildings not inferior 
to any in New York cit3\ California street is the Fifth 
avenue of San Francisco, and on this street are the 
palatial residences of most of the millionaires of the 
city of the Golden Gate. It is much more beautiful 
and attractive than any street in New York. A cable 
road runs its whole length to the Cliff House, which 
overlooks the whole city; also Oakland and all the 
waters of a most capacious and beautiful harbor. 

11 



Looking down from the CUE House yOu se6 near by 
at your feet the rocks upon which the sea lions con- 
gregate for frolic and sunshine. They bellow night 
and day. Their voices, coarse and hoarse, are heard 
above the roar of the waves that break upon their 
rocky rookery. Some of them are very large, The 
biggest fellow is estimated to weigh eighteen hundred 
pounds. 

I went through the streets of the Chinese quarters. 
I did not enter their holes or dens. I could see enough 
to satisfy me from the outside. They occup^^ the best 
section of the cit}', not far from its centre, and many 
own their buidings or lease the land for ninetj^-nine 
years. They are packed together in small nooks and 
corners, noisesome and repulsive to the last degree. 
You may imagine how they live when I tell you that 
one building 84x100 feet and four stories high contained 
seventeen hundred persons. 

They bunk as thick as peas in a pod, in the cellars 
under the sidewalks and wherever they can find space 
to sit or bundle up. I doubt if any slum in New York 
city can present a like picture of condensed degrada- 
tion and wretchedness. I met with a gentleman from 
Philadelphia who had a letter from the Chief of Police 
of that city to the Chief of Police in San Francisco. He 
and a fev/ of his friends Avere assigned a policeman who 
knew all about the inner life of the Chinese quarter, 
from the lowest cellar to garret. They were taken 
through in the night time when Chinatown is seen in its 
worst and most repulsive aspects. He said "I would 
not have missed it for twenty-five dollars," but he added 
"I would not go through it again for fifty." I do not 
wonder that the people of the Pacific coast do not wish 

12 



any more Chinamen brought into this country. Their 
morals and their habits of life are terribly demoralizing. 
The great mass of them do not and will not assimilate 
with Americans. They do not care a rush for our insti- 
tutions. They make all the money they can, send it 
back to China and if they die in this country make pro- 
vision for the transportation of their bones to their 
Flowery Kingdom. 

It is not to be denied that the Gospel by the grace of 
G-od can reclaim and save the lowest and the vilest of 
any tribe or nation. But it is also a fact that of all the 
thousands of these people in this country, comparatively 
few of them have been truly converted to God and be- 
come real Christians. This, however, is no argument 
against our working for their salvation. This much 
must be said in their favor ; they are industrious and 
hardworking, but opium and gambling are, both their 
besetting and upsetting sins working their ruin both in 
body and soul. 

Oakland, three miles across the bay, is a large, pros- 
perous and growing city. It is to San Francisco what 
Brooklyn is to New York. Thousands do business in 
the city but live in Oakland, which for beauty of situa- 
tion, picturesque and lovely scenery and surroundings 
can scarcely be surpassed in any country. 

We left San Francisco in the evening so as to have 
the daylight for viewing the magnificent mountain 
scenery on the line of the railroad to Portland. At 
Shasta Springs the conductor allowed five minutes for 
the passengers to drink the w^aters of this mineral 
fountain not twenty feet from the road. A jet of water 
shot up a hundred feet into the air, falling in fine spray 
upon the rocks beneath. The water is agreeable to the 

13 



taste and is said to possess valualDle medicinal proper- 
ties. A little farther ou we came to Shasta station. 
There, right in front of us, rose up in majestic grandeur 
Mount Shasta 14,444 feet high. Covered with snow 
from peak to base it presented a scene imposing and 
solemn that can be felt but not described. It was four- 
teen miles distant, but so transparent was the atmos- 
phere it did not appear to us more than three or four 
miles from where we stood. Such a picture photo- 
graphed upon the eye becomes engraved upon the 
mind and never can be forgotten. It inspires awe and 
reverence for Him who created the world and all things ; 
who formed the sea and the land and erected lofty in- 
accessible mountain peaks, gigantic symbols of his ma- 
jesty and power. 



14 





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e^APTEp III. 



w 



HEN I wrote from Salt Lake City I forgot to 
mention that the Union Pacific officials gave us 
an excursion to Garfield Beach on the shore of Salt 
Lake, distant twenty miles. There were about a thou- 
sand of us altogether, and we enjoyed the scenery, so 
peculiar, picturesque and impressive. Mountains cov- 
ered with snow shining in the sunlight, though twenty- 
eight miles away, do not seem more than five, so clear 
and transparent is the atmosphere. The facilities for 
bathing are ample; the buildings well constructed, 
artistic in form, kei>t painted and cleanly. The water 
of the lake is 22 per cent, of pure salt, twice as much 
as the water of the Dead Sea. I took a mouthful of it 
and found it very salt and I think it would preserve 
pork indefinitely. About a dozen men and one woman 
went in for a bath and enjoyed it exceedingly. It was 
impossible to sink when stretched out, face or back 
down. One inhaling the water in the mouth or nostrils 
would be in danger of strangling. During June, July 
and August large numbers of people visit the place, 
and it becomes a great pleasure resort, full of life and 

animation. 

15 



I saw Brigham Young's grave, plain and simple; the 
monument only a slab of marble; only an iron fence 
enclosing it, so far as I could see. It is located in one 
corner of a large enclosure, large enough to hold the 
bodies of all his wives and children. Probably he did 
not know all of his own children. It is told of him 
that one day walking along the street he saw a ragged 
and dirty boy. He said to him, "Boy, who is your 
father?" The little urchin replied, "My father is Brig- 
ham Young." 

I saw a number of the aborigines in Salt Lake City. 
Some of them are enlisted as soldiers in the regiment 
at Camp Douglass, They are of the Sioux tribe ; they 
make good soldiers, and those whom I saw were tall 
and straight as an arrow. At the depot were a number 
of the uncivilized, dressed in their peculiar way, and I 
suppose waiting for something to turn up. If I had 
with me a kodak I could have taken a very striking 
picture, worthy of a place in an art gallery. On the 
platform of a freight car were huddled together two 
Indian women with three children. The old squaw, 
with an ugly and forbidding face resembling that of 
the man in the moon, coarse features and skin much 
like sole leather, had charge of the two older children 
and kept them from falling off their dangerous perch. 
The younger squaw, apparently the daughter or daugh- 
ter-in-law, held in her arms a babe (or pappoose) bound 
to a board about two feet long and a foot wide. The 
child seemed to be some two or three months old and 
was bandaged and corded like an Egyptian mummy to 
the board, where it could not move hand or foot. We 
desired to see its face, but the mother kept it turned 
away from our view, and all our motions were in vain 

16 



till at length some one passed her a nickel; then she 
turned the face of the little tot to our view. It was 
a comical sight; nothing could be seen but a small, 
round, chubby face, peaceful and contented, making no 
noise or movement whatever. When the mother jour- 
neyed she could sling her treasure over her head by a 
strap ; when she camped she could hang it up on a peg 
or on the limb of a tree to be rocked by the wind; if in 
her wigwam she could set it up in a corner or against 
the side without any danger of the child's getting into 
the fire or falling into a vessel of hot water, as often 
happens in enlightened Christian households. This 
Indian method of fastening a child to a board has its 
advantages. 

We left Salt Lake City for Portland on Monday even- 
ing at half-past seven. At Laramie, next station be- 
yond Cheyenne, 576 miles from Salt Lake City, the train 
made a stop for some twenty minutes, and a large num- 
ber of passengers and citizens assembled on the plat- 
form and several of us were introduced to Mr. McNight, 
who is county judge and a resident there for 25 years. 

At Dalles, 1,140 miles further on, we rested twenty 
minutes for breakfast. On the table there was a huge 
salmon on exhibition weighing 65 pounds, caught the 
night before — one of a catch of twent}' tons. Talking 
with an old resident who had lived there for forty 
years, he told me that when he came to Dalles the sal- 
mon Avhen they went up the Columbia river to spawn 
were so large and so thickl}^ packed that he could walk 
on their backs across the river ! ! ! Whether this state- 
ment be true or not, it is a fact that the salmon are at 
times so closely crowded that a man can throw them 

out on the bank with a pitchfork. 

17 



At Bouneyville we took the steamboat for Portland, 
distant 80 miles. The change from the cars to the boat 
was a great relief after having been on the rail for 3,300 
miles. The scenery on the Columbia is wonderful in 
variety and beauty. We reached Portland, the cosmo- 
politan city of the Northwest Pacific coast, on Wednes- 
day evening at about six o'clock. Portland is a sub- 
stantial and beautiful city of 75,000 inhabitants, situated 
on the Willamette river twelve miles from its junction 
with the Columbia. The next day after our arrival we 
took the cable road for the Portland Heights. The cars 
took us up along inclines, as steep as the roof of a 
Dutch barn, with great rapidity and in perfect safety. 
On these Portland Heights the grandest panorama of 
natural scenery I ever l^elield greeted my eyes and rav- 
ished my senses. There in one direction stood Lit. 
Hood, 11,952 feet high rising up to the heavens sixty 
miles east of Portland in solemn grandeur, covered with 
snow from top to bottom. In an other direction you 
see Mt. Adams 9,570 feet high seventy miles north, and 
Mt. Rainier 160 miles north 14,414 feet high, also Mt. St. 
Helens sixty miles north of Portland and also Mt. Jef- 
ferson eighty miles southeast of the city 9,000 feet high. 
The day was clear and briglit with sunshine, so that we 
could see all these lofty peaks distinctly, and though so 
far off, did not aj^pear to our vision one-third of the dis- 
tance. No power of language can do justice to scenery 
so imposing and sublime. I think it would be well for 
Americans to visit the magnificent scenery to be found 
in their own country before they go to Europe and come 
back boasting of what they have seen in foreign lands, 
l)erhai)s to the disparagement of their own. Some of 
them ivy to be English " don't you know." 

18 



1 had the pleasure of dining with ex-Senator Corbeti 
He and I were natives of the same town and went to the 
same academy in Cambridge, Washington county, New 
York. He came to Portland forty years ago, when there 
were but four hundred inhabitants, and started in busi- 
ness and has grown up with the place. He came to 
stay and is now many times a millionaire. He was 
United States Senator during the late war and made a 
good record, doing all in his power to put down the re- 
bellion. No man has done more to build up Portland 
than Mr. Corbett and no man stands higher in the esti- 
mation and respect of the people. After dinner he took 
me in his carriage drawn by a splendid pair of bay 
horses and escorted me over all the interesting points 
and gave me a rich treat which I shall remember for- 
ever. We lived over again the scenes of our boyhood 
and youth, recalling old friends and events of our 
earlier days. We bade each other good-bye with sor- 
row, feeling that we would not probably meet again till 
we clasp hands in our Father's house of many mansions 
where separations are unknown. 



19 



©N the Pacific coast oysters are very good but yery 
small. When made into soup you could seek in 
yain for any oysters, but the flayor is there all the same. 
One might eat a hundred or more and not feel satisfied. 
It is related of a lady from Portland yisiting New York 
City that she desired to try some Blue Points, of which 
she had heard so much but which she had never seen. 
Accordingly she gave orders to the waiter at the hotel 
to bring to her room one hundred oysters fresh from 
the shell. The astonished waiter went to the clerk tell- 
ing him that the lady occupying room No. 125 had or- 
dered one hundred oysters for herself. The clerk open- 
ed wide his eyes and then went to see if the order was 
correct. She informed him that she knew what she 
wanted and desired her order to be filled as soon as 
practicable. "All right," said he, and politely bowed 
himself out of her room. Imagine her surprise when 
half a dozen waiters came to her room and deposited on 
her table ten plates of oysters for her own delectation. 
She could eat not more than ten and there were ninety 
lucious biyalyes left. She then discovered the difference 
between the oysters of the Pacific and those of the At- 
lantic coast. 

20 



After some live thousand miles of travel by laud and 
sea, it is a satisfaction and a pleasure to find ourselves 
on our way homeward. After all, there is no place like 
home, be it a palace or a cottage. Having crossed the 
continent on the Union Pacific we chose the Northern 
Pacific for our return. We deviated from our course at 
one point in order to take in Puget Sound and Victoria 
by way of variety. Victoria is some two hundred and 
fifty miles north of Portland. We go by rail 145 miles 
to Tacoma, thence by steamboat to Victoria. Puget 
Sound may be called the Mediterranean of this part of 
the world. It contains many islands and inlets with 
deep and capacious harbors. Its coast line is 1,843 
miles. The strait of Juan de Fuca, 80 miles in length 
and with a width of from 11 to 25 miles, connect it with 
the Pacific ocean. The scenery on every side is varied 
and beautiful. The snowy cascades, the Olympian and 
above all Mount Tacoma. rising in majestic grandeur as 
if to pierce the very heavens, and its snowy mantle 
glistening in the sun-light, making it conspicuous from 
afar, presents a magnificent picture of sublime and sol- 
emn beauty that must stamp itself upon the mind of 
the beholder forever more. 

Victoria is located on the Island of Vancouver and is 
English, you know. It contains some 25,000 inhabi- 
tants ; its buildings are substantial and solidly built, 
but rather dingy and unattractive. Viewed from a 
Yankee standpoint, it is fifty years behind the age. 
The people do not open their places of business till 10 
A. M., and promptly close at 4 P. M. On the Queen's 
birthday they close for three days and have a general 
good time. It is doubtful if they ever have among 
them any cases of nervous prostration from overwork. 

21 



This is a sensible way of living and Americans might 
preserve health and length of days by imitating their 
example. 

Tacoma and Seattle are rival cities, the former contain- 
ing 50,000 and the latter 45,000. Each doubtless has 
its own advantages. Their location on the shores of 
this great inland archipelago is in every wa}^ favorable 
to their rapid growth and j^i'osperity. The push, 
energ}^ and enterprise of the peoj^le are amazing. For 
many reasons we would prefer Tacoma to any other 
city on Puget Sound. It seems to have a substantial 
and healthy growth. Fifteen miles of cable and electric 
lines are completed and twenty more are under way. 
Starting out in the morning we asked a gentlemen, 
standing on the corner of a street, to direct us as to 
what lines to take in order to see the most of the city 
in the shortest time. He not only directed us but got 
on the car and rode with us for two hours, pointing out 
the public buildings and elegant residences and their 
distinguished owners. Coming back to our starting 
point, this same gentlemen conducted us through a 
great saw-mill, one of the largest in the world, employ- 
ing 1,500 men and turning out 250,000 feet of lumber 
per day. The buzz-saws, six feet in diameter, one above 
the other running with lightening speed, cut up a log 
five feet in diameter into inch boards in less than ten 
minutes. The next day this gentleman called at our 
hotel with his horses and carriage and invited us to 
take a drive with him out into the environs of Tacoma, 
which of course we accepted. He took us out of the 
city some four miles to Edison, where the Northern 
Pacific Company has recently established a plant for 
the building of locomotives and cars, investing a mil- 
lion of dollars. 22 
L.ofC. 



Here on the broad roiling prairie is growing rapidly 
a thriving town already connected with the city of 
Tacoma by electric cars, which in the near future will 
make both cities one. To give some idea of the rapid 
increase in the value of property in the neighborhood 
of Tacoma Ave will relate the following incident : Six 
years ago a man and his v/ife from Troy, N. Y., came to 
this city for better or worse. He bought a quarter 
section of Government land, 160 acres, at two dollars 
and fifty cents an acre. It was less than three miles 
from the centre of the city. His title was contested 
and while it was in litigation he was so poor that he 
acted as sexton in the Presbyterian Church and his wife 
took in washing. Finally the decision of the court was 
in his favor. His 160 acres which he bought for four 
hundred dollars are now worth one million dollars. 
We were told also of another man, who came to Tacoma 
twenty years ago with only two dollars and fifty cents 
in his pocket and he has no more now. 

The gentlemen to whom we are indebted for so much 
kindly attention and pleasure is Mr. George W. Traver, 
whose office is 402 and 403 Merchants National Bank, 
Tacoma, Washington. We saw still standing the large 
building erected for the revival services of Kev. Fay 
Mills. It is made of rough boards, temporary of course, 
and capable of holding seven or eight thousand per- 
sons. The structure was completed and ready for use 
in ninety-six hours. Their promptness and energy in 
getting ready for the labors of the celebrated evangelist 
show that while tJie people of Tacoma are intensely in 
earnest in the things of this world, some of them at 
least have an eye to the things of the world to come. 

We were shown the house which George Francis. 
23 



Train occupied for several inontlis for rest and recuper- 
ation on his return from his journey around the world. 
It is small and unattractive, only such as an eccentric 
character would be likely to select for even a temporary 
habitation. It is not exactly a lodge in the wilderness, 
but it is a lodge among tall and blackened stumps, 
where he could let his imagination run riot and his 
thoughts range and rage at his own sweet will with 
none to molest or disturb his solitary meditations. 

Near the great saw-mill, of which mention has been 
made, stands the first Episcopal Church erected in 
Tacoma. It attracts attention by reason of its unique 
bell-tower. This consists of the trunk of a large tree 
cut off some sixty feet from the ground. At its top is 
the little belfr}^ in which swings the bell that sendn 
forth in clear and ringing tones the call for the people 
to come up to the house of God for worship. An in. 
clined plane or stairway extends from the roof of the 
church to the top of this peculiar structure. Its archi- 
tecture surpasses that of your St. Andrew's By-the-Sea. 

Near Tacoma there is an Indian Reservation compris- 
ing eighteen thousand acres of rich and valuable land. 
Six hundred Indians claim it or own it. The interest 
on the value of the land at the present time would give 
to each man, woman and child fifteen hundred dollars 
a year. 

You have not the space to spare in 3^our paper for the 
tenth part of what we could relate of this remarkable 
city that would be of interest to the readers of the Sea- 
Side Times. Suffice it is to say that it bids fair to be- 
come a great metropolis because of its immense re- 
sources. Its large and extensive commercial movement 
in wheat, coal and lumber ; its shipping relations with 

24 



all poYta of the Paciiic coast and also with the ports of 
China and Japan are a promise and pledge of its per- 
manency and future greatness. Mar it grow great 
morally and spiritually as well. 



25 



E^^^^i^W^SJ 



^N leaving Tacoma, the subject of our last letter, we 
n I iDassed by some fifty stations of which more or less 
might be said, and find ourselves in Spokane, 
nearly four hundred miles from Tacoma. This growing 
and thriving city is near the eastern border of "Wash- 
ington. It contains more than 26,000 inhabitants and 
occupies a beautiful plateau on both sides of the Spo- 
kane River — a clear, sparkling, dashing stream of con- 
siderable volume with a descent of 150 feet in the course 
of half a mile. Here are a series of water-falls and 
rapids forming little Niagaras, the resort and admira- 
tion both of citizens and strangers. It is estimated 
that this stream can develop more than two hundred 
thousand horse-power. As it never freezes and never 
grows less in volume and its constant supply can al- 
w^ays be depended upon, it can readily be seen how great 
is its utility to the city. It furnishes the power for 
lighting the city streets and dwellings with electricity, 
and runs a number of manufacturing establishments. 
Three years ago the entire business portion of the city 
was burnt, involving a loss of ten millions of dollars. 
Within one year it was rebuilt with substantial and 
palatial structures worth three million dollars more 
than the property destroyed by the disastrous fire. 

26 



Being the termiual centre of several branch lines of the 
Northern Pacific and also having other railroad facili- 
ties, it is brought into connection with a vast extent of 
farming and mining regions which contribute immensely 
to the steady growth and wealth of this young me- 
tropolis of a Northwestern empire. It is surrounded 
by vast forests of valuable timber, beautiful mountains, 
fertile vales, and here and there picturesque lakes- 
Cereals and fruits of all kinds in rich abundance reward 
the labors of the husbandman. What would you think 
of a beet weighing ten pounds and a squash almost as 
large as a flour barrel. Hop raising is one of the great 
industries both of Washington and of Oregon. The 
largest and most productive hop fields in the world are 
found in these valleys, where the soil is so deej) and 
rich that unfailing and abundant crops have been 
gathered fifteen years in succession. The soil in some 
2)laces is one hundred and fifty feet deep ; the roots of 
the hop vines meeting with no obstacle extend from 
four to nine feet. Think of this ye Lond Islanders who 
have to expend so much money for fertilizers in order 
to produce a fair showing of grain or produce of any 
kind. 

Washington and Oregon may be called the Pennsyl- 
vanias of the Pacific coast, with this advantage, a mild 
and equable climate, so that in many places beautiful 
flowers flourish and bloom out of doors all the winter. 
Twelve years ago Washington contained a population 
of ninety thousand, it now has three hundred and fifty 
thousand. 

We spent the Sabbath in Spokane and became ac- 
quainted with the Presbyterian clergyman whose instal- 
lation over the church, to which he had been recently 

27 



called, took place on Siiuday evenii]g. There vins a 
large and attentive audience and tlie services were in- 
teresting and impressive. The leaven of the Gospel is 
silently and surely working its way in all the towns and 
cities of the Great West. Faithful, self-denying min- 
isters of Christ are found everywhere for the building 
uj) of the Kingdom of God, which opposes all wicked- 
ness and must ultimately triumjli over the Avorld, the 
flesh and the devil. More than 1 500 missionaries are 
laboring under the Presbyterian Church. 

On the outskirts of the city, on the north side, there 
is a ravine some two hundred feet deep with a very 
steep bank and through it runs a stream of clear water. 
It has received the name of Haugman's Creek from the 
circumstance that some years ago fifty Indians were 
there hanged for the brutal murder of two white men- 
The white citizens took the matter into their own hands' 
Fifty Indians were convicted for having participated in 
the horrid crime. Five of them were led out of prison 
each da}" and executed by hanging till the whole fifty 
were disj^osed of and sent into eternity. Hence the 
name "Hangman's Creek." Thirty -live miles southeast 
of Spokane is an Indian Eeservation of many thous 
ands of acres of very rich and valuable land. Recently 
the U. S, Government bought all but 1,250 acres which 
have been reserved for the aboriginees, while throwing 
open to white settlers the whole northern portion. 
There were six hundred Indians and each man, woman 
and child received from " Uncle Sam" fourteen hundred 
dollars. 

We once more take the cars for Helena, nearly 400 
miles from Spokane. Helena is the capital of Montana 
as every school boy knows. It is located on a sloping 

28 



ravine some tweut}^ miles in extent, surrounded by hills, 
and in the distance are seen lofty mountain chains with 
snow covered peaks that sparkle in the sunshine with 
lustre inimitable. The population of Helena is about 
fifteen thousand and its financial and commercial insti- 
tutions with their surplus and undivided profits, show 
that it is the wealthiest city in the world of its size, or 
at least, in America, as is proved by its per capita bank 
deposits. We cannot be surprised at this when we con- 
sider the inexhaustable mineral treasures of gold and 
silver found within the bounds of Montana. The out- 
put for 1891 was fifty million dollars. The Granite 
Mining- Company turns out monthly 350,000 ounces of 
silver. The city is built upon soil more or less golden. 
The old gulches formerly so rich in the precious metal, 
have been fJled in and streets run over them v.itli stores 
and dwellings. We were told of a man who lately in 
digging a cellar took out six hundred dollars in gold 
which he secured from the sand in fine particles. The 
foundations of the city of Helena are somewhat golden 
to say the least. But its morals are not exactly of that 
character. Saloons and gambling hells are licensed to 
run every day, Sundays included. The}' abound and 
paj a thousand dollars a year each for the privilege of 
destroying the morals of the community and ruining 
the body and souls of men. From what we saw we 
were compelled to conclude that while there might be a 
little of Heaven in Helena, there was obviously a great 
deal more of the other place in that city. 

One of the chief objects of interests to the visitor is 
the Natatorium built by Col. C. A. Broadwater. A 
native of Missouri, he went to Montana when a young- 
man and identified himself with the interests of the 

29 



commouwealth from its beginniug. He was the Presi- 
dent of the Montana National Bank, interested in 
extensive mining and financial affairs throughout 
the State and had accumulated several millions 
of dollars. He took special pride in i^lanning and 
building this Natatorium at Helena Hot Springs- 
It is two miles from the city and connected by two 
lines of electric cars running at the rate of twenty 
miles an hour. There is probably no larger or finer 
establishment of the kind in the world. The bathing- 
pool - 300 by 100 feet — is covered with a vaulted 
roof of stained glass of many colors, presenting an en- 
chanting effect when the streaming sunlight floods the 
rippling waters and gilds the merry bathers with radiant 
prismatic hues. The water supply comes in over a 
double cascade of granite rocks forty feet high at the 
rate of a million of gallons a day, one portion hot and 
the other cold By the mingling of these streams any 
temperature desired can be produced. We would like 
to look into the kitchen of Mother Nature and see how 
she heats the water in the subterranean dejiths, whether 
by chemical action or by real tire. These waters have 
valuable medical j^roperties and the Hotel Broadwater 
has become a celebrated health and summer resort. 
Both the hotel and the natatorium are built in Moorish 
style, of beautiful form and architecture, with all the 
appliances and conveniences that science, art, skill and 
wealth can command. Col. Broadwater died very sud- 
denly about two weeks before our visit to Helena, and 
his funeral was attended by a vast concourse from all 
parts of his State and many neighboring States as well. 
He is spoken of as a broad-minded man, of great public 
spirit and business capacity, with generous instincts ; 
affable, approachable and kind to the poor. 

30 



in the early history of Montana there was no territo- 
rial government, nor, indeed, any other than the law of 
self preservation. Each camp, for the sake of safety 
and better order, elected a judge, and he appointed a 
sheriff, who held office as long as it suited the majority. 
Finally it was thought best to elect a sheriff for the 
whole region. A notorious character liy the name of 
Henry Plummer was chosen. He selected fellow ruf- 
fians as his deputies, and in one year this heartless and 
hellish gang murdered more than one hundred citizens 
whose bodies Avere found. When this became known, 
vigilant committees were organized among the miners, 
and very soon Plummer with many of his infamous 
associates met with swift retribution at the end of a 
rope. Col. Broadwater adroitly misled two desperados 
who followed him the distance of 132 miles, which he 
covered in eighteen hours. He broke down his fast 
horse, but fortunately secured another from a ranch- 
man and thus made his escape. He had in l)elts around 
his person thirty-two i)ounds of gold dust. For this 
he was to have been killed, and that, too, by men who 
wei:e personal acquaintances. That he Avas to be way- 
laid and robbed was made known to him by one of the 
gang whom he had formerly befriended. 

Gold, silver and copper are not the only abundant 
productions of Montana — a State three times larger 
than Ohio — but thousands of square miles of coal under- 
1 e its surface. Its enormous acreage for grazing, farm- 
ing and agricultural products must in time surpass in 
Avealth all its mines of gold. 

But w^e must not delay any longer in this Eldorado 
accordingly we board the train for St. Paul, 1,181 miles 
from Helena. It is a long ride, and yet it is not w^eari- 

31 



some oi* monotonous, because all along the wa}^ are 
sights and scenes that attract attention and awaken 
thought. We passed within fourteen miles of the place 
where General Custer and his men were massacred by 
the redskins. We arrived at Minneapolis in time to be 
present when the Eepublican Convention glorified itself 
in the nomination of Harrison a second term for Presi- 
dent. 

And now in conclusion, to sum up the whole matter, 
in all our 8,500 miles of travel, we prefer as a permanent 
place of residence New York State and city, including 
Southampton (in summer), to any place we have seen. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




